A Crown in Ash (The Ostler's Boy Book 3)

Chapter Forty-Five

We wandered back to find the dancing was in full force. Ser Elías was not at the refreshments like Ser Willoughby had said, but it'd been a while since he'd told us that. I looked for the shine of his armor within the crowd, but when he wasn't in the ballroom, we were continued the search through one of the backdoors.

"Should we split up?" I asked.

The Duke frowned. "Absolutely not. You're to stay with me, remember?"

He took my hand and led me down the steps and into the garden, where I saw my father standing near the gate just before the hedges. But the moment we'd cleared the tables, another couple pulled us into the maypole dance that all the ladies and gents were doing. I had not even seen the pillar erected during setup, but we spun with the girl and her partner, quickly swallowed by the joyful ambiance. It was twice that we passed by Ser Elías before it registered to me.

"Askar!" I cried, freeing my hand to point.

We left the circle, Ask insisting upon 'stealing me' from the man who'd linked his hand with mine. And finally, we found the Lord Commander. He was speaking to my father, and I wondered how I had missed him the first lap. I nearly tripped, stumbling to address him; my foot had caught on a ribbon that was an icy green.

"S-Ser?" I asked. I swallowed, trying to shake it off. I had to put my hands up around me to settle the cascading features of the yard and to combat the bout of dizziness. "Lord Commander, Ser?" I tried. I wasn't sure why I was so formal, but neither was Elías as evident in his furrowed brow when he turned around.

"Your Highness?" he asked. "Your Grace?" He steadied me by my elbows. "Are you well?"

The Duke nodded. "We got caught in the twirling," he said.

My father was happy to receive him. Us. Together. He smiled broadly, offering a near-melodic, "Eyy, there they are. We were just talking about you, Duke."

"You were?" Askar grinned. "Good things, I hope?"

"Are there any bad things to say?" the King asked.

"I–" They were cheerfully engaged.

Even Elías was bright. "You've got a ribbon attached to you," he said.

"What?" I asked.

Askar and I both looked down to find the seafoam band that was coiled around our ankles, binding us together. He pulled it off of us and placed it in my palm.

"That's good luck, you know?" Elías teased. Then he frowned. "What happened to your hand?"

"Ser Willoughby–" I missed a breath.

"It's alright, love," Askar chimed. "Ser Willoughby is looking for you, Ser," he said.

Eli canted his brow. "He's looking for me?"